Cruising ★★★★☆

Cruising

★★★★

Cruising is one of those wonderful Fringe surprises: a show you stumble across and leave wondering why it wasn’t already firmly on your radar.

This funny, endearing two-person piece of queer theatre is exceptionally well written. Sam and Amelia are natural, engaging and beautifully developed characters, immediately drawing the audience into their world. There is an authenticity to their relationship that allows you to lean in as the story moves effortlessly between humour, intimacy and much darker territory.

At its heart, Cruising Cruising explores the complexities of queer and open relationships through a distinctly modern lens. The writing is raw and gritty without losing its warmth, tackling trauma, policing, prison and brutality while remaining grounded in the humanity of its characters. The cruise industry provides a clever backdrop for bigger conversations around climate change, consumption and the contradictions of modern life.

The script has excellent flow, with some particularly clever staging and blocking techniques keeping the production visually interesting. The simple set works perfectly, giving the performers and writing space to breathe, while the clever lighting design transforms the stage and elevates the entire production.

What makes Cruising work so well is its confidence. It leans unapologetically into queer culture without feeling the need to over-explain itself. The themes are contemporary, the characters complicated and the storytelling refreshingly intelligent.

Funny, gritty, clever and unexpectedly moving, Cruising is fresh Fringe theatre at its best a wonderfully pleasant shock and exactly the kind of unexpected discovery that makes taking a chance at the Fringe worthwhile.